AMERICAN INSIGHT
WORLDTRAVELER
AAdvantage®memberLindaMansolillo isnostranger
toairports.Asanewmother, thisAirForcereservist is
learning tobalancework, familyandher loveof travel.
Whattypeofworkdoyoudo?
Iwork foramoleculardiagnosticcom-
panyasacorporateaccountdirector
andIamalsoanAirForcereservist.
Wheredoyourtravelstakeyou?
Ispenda lotof time inAustin,Texas,
wheremycompany isheadquartered. I
also travel toNewYork,Memphis,
Dallas,SouthCarolinaand thebayarea
ofCalifornia. Ihave family inCosta
Rica, soIgo thereoftenaswell.
Favoritedestination?
MyhusbandandIusedAmerican’s
one
worldAAdvantagepartnerAir
TahitiNuiandwent toBoraBora. It’sa
magicalplace.We’rebigswimmersand
divers–so thatwas justheaven.
Destinationsonyour“must-go” list?
MyhusbandandIhavewanted tovisit
Montenegro.We’vespentsomuch time
inEurope, and that’sonepartof the
continent thatwehaven’texplored. I
alsowant togohome toCostaRicaso
mydaughtercanmeetallofher family
there.
Traveltip?
Don’tbeafraid to talk to thepeople
aroundyou. I’vemetsome incredible
peoplewhileflying thathavebecome
friends for life.Don’tpretend likeyou’re
theonlyoneon theplane.Remove the
headphones, introduceyourselfandsay
“hello”–youmightmakea friendyou
weren’texpecting.
What’sdifferentabouttravelingas
amom?
Travelingwithayoungchild isawhole
newparadigmshift forme. I’mgetting
anopportunity throughmy loyalty to
gether tickets tosee theworld. I’llbe
able to take themiles thatI’veearned
andshowherplaces thatInever
dreamedmychildwouldsee.
AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER2015
103
AADVANTAGE
MEMBER
SPOTLIGHT
Smooth
Operations
T
he lateRobertW. “Bob” Baker was the
AmericanAirlines vice chairmanbefore
retiring in 2002, andduringhis 35-year ca-
reer, hewas respected throughout the indus-
trybecauseof his reputation for running safe
and reliable airlineoperations.As a tribute to
him,Americanopened theRobertW. Baker
IntegratedOperationsCenter (IOC) this
September. The 149,000-square-foot facility
inFortWorth, Texas, serves as the central
coordination center for theworld’s largest
airline. It housesmore than 1,400employees
whoplan, oversee anddispatchmore than 1
millionflights, servingmore than 140million
customers every year.
It is thefirst building constructedon
American’s FlightAcademy campus inmore
than 20 years and includesworking space
for theoperations staff, associated training
facilities andmuchmore. “The co-location
of our twooperations centers is an important
milestone inour integration,” says IOC
ManagingDirectorMarcGross. “This new,
state-of-the-art facilitywill bringour opera-
tions teams together to learnbest practices
fromeachother, whichwill result in running
abetter airline. Thenew facility is also
designed topromote collaboration among all
workgroups through anopen-office concept.
Wehave also addedmore customer service
and socialmediapositions tobetter support
our customers’ needs.Combining this new
facilitywith thebest employees in thebusi-
nesswill help toensureAmericanAirlines is
the industry leader inproviding customers
with reliable, on-time service.”
